Note how they get around firearm useage: they claim half aren't real guns LOL
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Press Association (UK)
27 December 1999
By Jo Butler
Armed Crime Rises By 10%
Armed crime rose by 10% last year according to figures which show a worrying
increase in the use of weapons by criminals.
During 1998, police recorded a total of 13,671 armed offences, up from 12,410
the year before.
But experts estimate that only around half the weapons used in armed
incidents are real.
Unless the guns are fired or recovered later by police, records are based on
descriptions from witnesses, who may be not be able to tell the difference
between a real weapon and an imitation firearm.
The figures also show that the number of armed robberies, which includes
muggings, raids on banks and shops, was down from 3,029 in 1997 to 2,843.
The Home Office figures, covering England and Wales, show that overall the
number of firearms licensed in the country fell by 3% in 1998 as the impact
of the tightening of gun laws in the wake of the Dunblane massacre in March
1996 continued to be felt.
Overall, 295,100 firearms were covered by certificates at the end of 1998,
compared with a peak of 418,300 in 1996 before the legislation took effect.
The number of registered firearms dealers dropped by 9% to 2,180.
Areas of the country with the highest number of certificated firearms are the
rural areas including Dyfed Powys, West Mercia, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire,
Devon and Cornwall, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Suffolk, and
Norfolk.
Equally, inner city police areas-including Cleveland, West and South
Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and the Metropolitan area- contain the lowest
number of certificated firearms.
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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
******************************
Press Association (UK)
27 December 1999
By Jo Butler
Armed Crime Rises By 10%
Armed crime rose by 10% last year according to figures which show a worrying
increase in the use of weapons by criminals.
During 1998, police recorded a total of 13,671 armed offences, up from 12,410
the year before.
But experts estimate that only around half the weapons used in armed
incidents are real.
Unless the guns are fired or recovered later by police, records are based on
descriptions from witnesses, who may be not be able to tell the difference
between a real weapon and an imitation firearm.
The figures also show that the number of armed robberies, which includes
muggings, raids on banks and shops, was down from 3,029 in 1997 to 2,843.
The Home Office figures, covering England and Wales, show that overall the
number of firearms licensed in the country fell by 3% in 1998 as the impact
of the tightening of gun laws in the wake of the Dunblane massacre in March
1996 continued to be felt.
Overall, 295,100 firearms were covered by certificates at the end of 1998,
compared with a peak of 418,300 in 1996 before the legislation took effect.
The number of registered firearms dealers dropped by 9% to 2,180.
Areas of the country with the highest number of certificated firearms are the
rural areas including Dyfed Powys, West Mercia, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire,
Devon and Cornwall, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Suffolk, and
Norfolk.
Equally, inner city police areas-including Cleveland, West and South
Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and the Metropolitan area- contain the lowest
number of certificated firearms.
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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
